I had been working really hard to plan my medical leave but whoops I couldn’t stop crying last night so I decided I probably shouldn’t go to work today so I guess it’s starting early.

I have been working with an Occupational Therapist to help plan accommodations for my return, but other than that…what do I do lol?

I would very much like to speed run 100% this thing and while I know it’s not possible I’m probably going to try anyways 🤷‍♀️

If you’ve been on leave for autistic burnout I’d love to hear:

  1. What did you do with your time off?
  2. How did you know you were better?
  3. What do you wish someone told you about it?

Appreciate any replies, thanks!

  • Arcanepotato@crazypeople.onlineOPEnglish
    2·
    4 days ago

    Thank you!

    I know the root of my burnout is communication challenges and I am working with an occupational therapist to find accommodations that will help. My work is inherently stressful (large infrastructure projects) but what makes it unbearable for me is when directions change or decisions change and I seem to be the only one who doesn’t understand it. Or when people refuse to answer my questions as a way of telling me they don’t need something anymore.

    I am also unable to stop (I ran one marathon once and didn’t notice that I was bleeding though my shoe good times lol). I’m going to have to build in rules or routines that force me to stop because I don’t know if I will ever learn my body cues. I’ve done quite a lot of meditation and yoga and love hanging out in float tanks/isolation pods but those just help me dissociate more lol.

    • Ananääs@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      2 days ago

      Good that you are getting help from a therapist!

      Changes are stressful and they are especially stressful when there’s vagueness/unclear communication around it! That also sounds a lot like an internal communication issue in the workplace, not “just a personal fault” - and those things should be taken seriously.

      We neurodivergents learn from childhood to ignore our needs and it takes a long time to relearn to trust ourselves and hear the cues our bodies and minds give to us. It sounds like you are already doing a lot, taking steps and finding new, healthier ways of being. Hopefully your workplace will also find ways to help out in that professional setting!

      • Arcanepotato@crazypeople.onlineOPEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        My post was very much a tl;dr - it’s been like 7 years since I started realizing something was wrong at work. I upped and left a really good job for something simpler, somehow ended up in the same role a year later (LMAO) but somewhere that made me yearn for the problems of the previous job. ADHD “diagnosis” 3 years ago (GP gave me meds), autism/ADHD diagnosis via assessment process last year.

        Vaugeness was less of an issue at the old job because roles and responsibilities were more clearly defined. Here they are not, and the scope of my responsibility is so much more.

        Just mentioning that it’s been a hell of a journey, mostly so others who read it won’t beat themselves up for taking long to figure it out.